


Finding Family

by Quryuu



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4656678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quryuu/pseuds/Quryuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander is forced to leave Sunnydale. Along the way he finds his family, or more specifically, they find him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

 

Xander winced slightly as he tried to knot his tie properly over his dress shirt. The bruises Tony had given him as a graduation/going away present overtop of all the injuries he sustained from the actual battle during graduation left him sore and stiff. Thankfully his stepfather had left for the bar and had yet to return. Maybe if he was lucky the bastard would get eaten, but he doubted it.

A tired sigh left him as he looked over his form in the mirror. Larry’s was the last funeral for those that had died during the battle. The battle he had planned and led. The battle to survive the Mayor’s ascension into a pure demon and subsequent plan to turn their class into a buffet. Even with the back up plans and the strength in numbers with the students fighting back, they had lost a good amount of people. Some had completely disappeared, though he wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up later as members of the undead.

Realistically he knew it could have gone a hell of a lot worse. Emotionally he blamed himself for every grave dug as a result of the fight. So many ‘if onlys’ ran through his mind over and over the past week.

Shaking his head he got rid of all thoughts about the possibilities. He had a funeral to get to then a road trip to start. He had packed the car earlier with the items he wanted to keep, knowing his ‘parents’ would scavenge his room for any sellable items to help fund their addictions.

Just as he turned to head out the door of his room a new presence appeared. Shifting into a defensive pose he took in the cheap suit and bowler hat the man wore.

“Hey kid.” The thick Bronx accent rolled over him.

“Let me guess… Whistler.” Xander frowned.

“Right in one kid.”

“As I’m sure you know Buffy’s at home with her mom getting ready to go to LA for the summer.” He pointed out dispassionately, planning to leave.

“I’m not here for the Slayer. I came to talk to you.” The little man held his ground at the fierce glare now directed at him. The others may not consider Harris dangerous but the Balance Demon knew better. He held his hands up. “Look I’m just the messenger kid.”

Huffing Xander managed to relax. It wasn’t Whistler’s fault his bosses sucked. “Ok what’s the what?”

“You gotta leave Sunnydale for good kid. Or everything in this dimension will die.”


	2. chapter 2

Two months had passed since graduation. A month since every spell on him finally broke. To say his time outside of Sunnydale opened his eyes to the truths of the world would vastly understate the lessons he had learned.

Sure he knew that people were not inherently good, even with a soul, a big argument that he held against Angel. However, he had not been prepared for some of the darker aspects of the human psych. He also had a crash course in the darker side of society, demon and otherwise. Whistler had thankfully given him some reference material before sending him off into the world. Still, he found himself constantly trying to process and adapt to some of the information he had garnered during his travels. Then he learned of the Hunters and the ‘other’ demons. Lots of fun there. The hardest lesson by far had been coming to terms with the truth that Willow had used magic against him without his knowledge or permission. 

The girl he had known since kindergarten. One of his first and two months ago he’d have said truest friends. Apparently he had underestimated the addiction of magic. 

After a full week of recovery, a painful process that he did not ever wish to repeat, he had called Giles warning him of the issue. The man had promised to look into it and Whistler had popped in telling him that it would receive the proper attention. Only then did he relax some. 

He had yet to forgive her though, and as such had not contacted her or even Buffy. He kept in touch with Giles every other week, but he didn’t want to give the girls any chance to talk him into going home. After what Whistler had told him would happen, he knew he could never return no matter what his heart wanted because he would always put the world first. He’d done it often enough. 

The balance demon had offered him some choices. He could live a basic ‘ordinary’ life. He doubted seriously he could get behind that. Follow in the footsteps of the Watchers, document and learn about the supernatural. Not really his bag. Or he could train with and become a Hunter. They tended to have too narrow of views for him though. However the last choice held the best possibilities. 

He liked the idea of traveling around and if he ran into evil he’d handle it. However, if there were peaceful demons that needed his help, he would give it to them in return. He’d seen the darkness of humans too many times to think that demons were always the ones causing the problems. 

First thing he had to do was get Whistler to create fake ids for him. Which wasn’t too hard since his mom had forged his age on his papers for years. Everyone thought he was eighteen, a newly fledged adult. In reality he’d only just turned sixteen a month before graduation. It’d probably surprise a lot of people to know such. 

Then again when he thought about it there was a lot that people, his ‘friends’ included, didn’t know about him. 

Like his intelligence. Many thought he skated by in school by the edge of his teeth. Not true. Granted he had a C average, but that was in advanced classes that he took with Willow. Most kids couldn’t even keep up with those classes and he did so despite all the patrolling and monthly big bads. He also helped a lot in researching. He may not know every language fluently but more often than not he found the reference needed and set it out for Giles or Buffy. Sure he acted like he didn’t like research, but after years of keeping his head down due to Tony ‘Beat-the kid’ Harris, it was a hard habit to break. 

He’d learned very early in life to hide his true self. It kept him in one piece more often than not. 

Like the fact he kept his knowledge of the supernatural hidden. Oh he’d known about the darkness before Buffy came to town. But he knew to not speak of it because being different or having knowledge tended to get one killed. He’d always had a weird sort of perception that allowed him to recognize those that weren’t fully human. When he spent as many nights outside thanks to Tony as he had as a kid he got to know who to avoid. Still, knowing and admitting were two very different things. He didn’t want to bring more attention to himself, even with his crush on Buffy at the time. 

None of his friends even knew that Tony wasn’t his real father. Oh Jesse had known, but the secret had died with him. Willow had not become privy to the information and he saw no point to tell anyone else. At one time he thought it would make a difference, it had even given him some hope. Now though it was just a name on a piece of paper, probably the only accurate document on him. 

For all he knew John Winchester could be as bad or worse than Tony Harris. Quite frankly he didn’t think he wanted to find out. 

Rubbing a tired hand over his face he took a sip of his coke, eyes scanning the small bar he now sat in. Normally he strayed from such places, worried about the bar keep calling the cops on him for being underage, but there wasn’t another restaurant for miles and his last ride had dropped him off here. 

Since his vehicle had died, the engine dropping out spectacularly somewhere near Oxnard, he had hitch hiked from town to town. Sometimes he took odd jobs to earn some cash, others he was busy with the supernatural. More often than not he ended up walking and camping. Who knew all those nights of surviving the Hellmouth would come in handy? 

Still he had put as much distance between himself and Sunnydale as possible, which is how he ended up in North Dakota at the Roadhouse. 

When he’d first walked in he silently thanked the powers that he’d gotten rid of all his eyesore shirts and kept to jeans and flannel. Because the patrons of this bar looked rather rough. A precursory scan pointed out several weapons and signs that hinted the men and women inside were either dangerous criminals or Hunters. The soldier leaned towards Hunters, and Xander agreed. 

He wondered if it would be bad form to look up Ethan Rayne and thank him for his Halloween prank junior year. Without the soldier in his mind Xander likely would have had an even harder time of it than he had. Of course the Hyena helped too, even if she did give him unnatural urges to hunt at the most random times. 

He had sidled up to the bar like he belonged, a trick the soldier had taught him. The owner was a middle-aged female that looked like she could definitely take care of herself. Her eyes clearly told him to not try any bullshit with her, but since he wasn’t ordering anything alcoholic he figured he’d be fine. Sure enough she had seemed surprised by his order of a coke and sandwich but she also gave him a smile, so he considered it a win. 

He didn’t speak to anyone, as he knew he really didn’t belong. Instead he watched the TV reporting the news, more specifically the weather. He would need to know for when he started for the next town since he doubted he wanted to get a ride from anyone here. 

He kept an eye and ear on his surroundings, another habit from soldier boy. It helped him learn the names of those around him. The bar lady was Ellen and the guy with the mullet was Ash. A few others echoed but he didn’t bother to commit them to memory. While networking usually helped in hunting, he doubted anyone would take him seriously. One of the things that sucked about being a kid still. 

He’d been there for about an hour when Ellen popped out, yelling to Ash to watch the bar. Xander had considered leaving shortly after that but something in his gut said he needed to stay. 

The feeling grew as the minutes passed. Ash had been on the phone and he seemed rather agitated but he didn’t put too much stock into that. However as time dragged on he noted that only hunters seemed to remain in the building and that could not be good. 

Sure enough the feeling proved right as the doors and windows all slammed shut, locking by an unseen force. He’d learned about these types of powers belonging to the Judeo-Christian demons and it never ended well. 

The others started to panic, banging against the walls and glass, trying to break out using chairs and tables, but nothing worked. Xander grabbed Ash by the arm.

“Is there a cellar? Or a storage closet?”

“What? Yeah a closet but…” The man seemed confused. 

“Gather everyone in there,” Xander ordered, pulling his bag to grab the items he needed.

Shouts caught his attention alerting him to the flames working to engulf the building. Not bothering to wait for Ash he yelled out.

“Everyone to the storage closet now!” He started herding them in with Ash. Once inside he started to draw on the door and the walls, floor and ceiling.

“What the hell are you doing,” one man yelled.

“You just trapped us,” another growled.

“No, I’m saving our lives. Now shut up!” Xander took a breath and concentrated, Latin flowing off his tongue clearly. The hunters watched in surprise as the symbols glowed brightly, a shield like substance reaching out and around them until all the symbols connected. They could see fire licking at the wood of the storage closet but no heat or smoke reached them. 

“I’ll be damned,” one whispered hoarsely.

“How are you doing that,” Ash breathed, one finger poking at the shield, moving away quickly from the small shock he felt. 

Xander shuddered slightly, trying to keep the power flowing. “Spell.” He muttered distractedly. “Should fool whatever into thinking we’re burning inside the place.” 

Looks were exchanged but Xander didn’t notice. He just hoped he could keep this up.


	3. chapter 3

Dean and Bobby stared at the smoldering wreckage of the Roadhouse. 

“My god…”

“Ash knew something,” Dean growled. “That’s why he called…” 

The younger hunter moved forward trying to see if anyone managed to get out. He saw odds and ends, mostly furniture and beams but no bodies.

“They must have gotten out. There’s no bodies. And no way the fire burned hot enough to completely destroy a body,” Dean announced, relief clear in his voice. 

“The door won’t budge.” Bobby mused. “So how’d they get out?”

Dean was cut off from answering by a car pulling up next to the Impala. They turned to find a stunned Ellen stepping out of the car. 

“What happened? Where is everybody? Ash? Ash!” She moved forward frantically searching the debris.

“Ellen,” Dean called, grabbing her shoulder. “Was there anyone here? Could they have gotten out? Is there a cellar?”

“The place was full of hunters when I left,” She exclaimed, eyes wide with fear and pain. “I don’t have a cellar…”

“Well they gotta be somewhere,” Bobby huffed, eyes moving over the debris as he picked his way through. “There’s gotta be something…”

He was cut off as he bumped into something he couldn’t see. “What the devil?”

Dean and Ellen shared a glance then moved over to him, both feeling the strange barrier. 

Dean shrugged and banged on whatever it was. “Hey! Anyone in there? It’s Dean Winchester! Ash? Anybody?”

“We’re in here,” came a muffled reply. Dean clearly felt the relief that swept through the other two from the way their shoulders slumped. More muffled words sounded but they couldn’t quite make it out. 

Suddenly whatever had hid them flashed brightly then bled away revealing several hunters and Ash hovering over a young man breathing heavily on the floor. 

“Ash!” Ellen rushed the man and drug him into a bear hug thrilled he had survived. 

“What happened McGinnis,” Bobby questioned one of the older hunters. 

“One minute we’re in the bar like normal the next the doors and windows are all slammed shut and there’s no way to break them open. We were completely trapped, like rats. Then the fire started and I didn’t think we had a chance. Next thing I know this kid’s dragging us all to the closet and drawing wards over the walls. He starts spouting off Latin and a weird shield pops up around us.” The man shook his head, eyes conveying his disbelief as they swept the devastated bar. “Boy saved our lives.”

Dean helped another hunter pull the boy up and carry him out of the bar. “Why’s he like this then?”

Bobby frowned in thought. “What kind of symbols did he use?”

“Weird ones I ain’t never seen,” Ash advised drawing them into the sand. The others clearly heard Bobby’s curse.

“What is it,” Ellen frowned in worry.

“It’s a protection spell to hide one from the ‘dark’ or in this case demons,” the old man sighed. “The thing is this spell takes its power from the user. The longer one holds it the more energy gets taken. Hold it too long and…” He trailed off but everyone got the message loud and clear. 

Dean felt his respect rise for the fragile looking kid. It took guts to risk your life in a situation like this, especially to save strangers. Before he could say anything else he was bombarded with visions his head nearly splitting with pain.

“Dean,” Bobby came over, eyes worried.

“I… I just saw an old town and a bell with a tree.” He rubbed his temples trying to alleviate the pain. Realization as to what it meant struck him. “I think it’s where Sam is!”

“Sam,” Ellen frowned. “He’s missing?”

“The demon took him,” Dean informed her. “But I’m gonna get him back. And I think whatever it is you wanted to tell me Ash, he didn’t want us to know.”

“That’d make sense. What I found is big.”

“Cold Oaks,” Bobby spoke up suddenly.

“What?”

“Cold Oaks, South Dakota, that’s the town you saw.”

“Then that’s where we’re going,” Dean nodded resolutely. “Ash, you and Ellen should probably go to Bobby’s, once we get Sam we’ll meet you there.” He looked to said house owner for confirmation getting a nod in return.

“Alright, but I’m bringing the kid with us,” Ellen stated decisively. No one bothered to argue with her. 

With the help of Ash she got Xander into the back of her vehicle. While she grabbed what she could and checked on the others that were also taking their leave, Ash grabbed the information from the safe and what equipment that had not completely submitted to the fire. 

Finally the two climbed into Ellen’s car, not disturbing the unconscious teen in the back. 

“Looks like life just got more interesting,” Ash mused.

“You ain’t kidding.”


	4. chapter 4

Xander woke up to find himself on a rather nice bed in a room he certainly didn’t recognize. It took a minute to remember the events at the bar, which in turn explained his exhausted state. He really needed to learn some more versatile spells that didn’t require a human battery.

Slowly he pushed himself up into a seated position, groaning as a few joints popped and muscles pulled. Going back to sleep sounded great, but soldier and hyena wouldn’t let him. They kept barking about unknown territory and possible threats. So he forced himself up despite his body’s protest.

Making his way out of the room he noted the worn walls and random knickknacks that decorated the place. Voices drifted up from downstairs but not loud enough to make out the actual words. Cautiously he edged down the stairs stepping lightly like he had learned to do since a child. The closer he got the easier it became to make out the voices.

He thought he recognized the lady from the bar, Ellen and the other guy Ash. The third one he couldn’t place though. He found them in what could have been a living room, but looked more like a library, though Giles would have had a conniption at the state of the books.

He stayed by the doorway and cleared his throat to catch their attention, not wanting to startle anyone incase they reacted badly.

“Hey, you’re up,” Ash greeted him happily, moving forward and pulling him into the room with an arm around his shoulders. “Great to see ya compadre. That was some mojo you pulled off. Totally saved my ass.”

“Uh yeah… No problem… Did the others make it out too?” He glanced at the other adults nervously.

“They did thanks to you.” Ellen smiled at him. “We were worried when you passed out though. Bobby here says that was a dangerous spell you pulled off.”

He shrugged his shoulders flashing his ‘awe shucks’ smile. “Yeah. I need to find a better protection spell that doesn’t take so much energy.”

“Damn right you do,” the supposed Bobby huffed. He was a bit older than Ellen, his hair turning grey. Xander figured he and Giles probably came from the same generation. “How old are you anyway kid?”

“Xander,” he supplied, disliking the moniker of kid. “And I’m eighteen. Just graduated high school a few months ago.” At their shocked looks he shrank down some. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Ellen quickly assured him. “It’s just a surprise. You’re awfully young to know about the supernatural and to be able to pull off a spell like that…”

“My town is a hot spot for supernatural,” he replied honestly, figuring it wouldn’t go well if he tried to lie. “People don’t notice because there’s town wide denial. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if the mayor cast a spell to make it that way.” At their confused looks he clarified. “Uh, he was a 140 year old warlock. He tried to ascend into a Olvikan demon at graduation. We managed to stop him.”

“Wow,” Ash summed it up. “That must have been a wild party. My graduation sucked!”

Xander shifted uncomfortably. “So you’re Bobby.” He decided to get introductions out of the way. “And if I heard right, you’re Ellen and Ash?”

“That’s right man, but you can call me Dr. Bad Ass.” The young genius grinned happily. “I am the master of computers.”

“Ash.” Ellen rolled her eyes playfully at the man. Bobby merely snorted.

“So… why exactly was a demon trying to burn your place down? I mean I noticed the Hunters but most demons I’ve come across wouldn’t bother attacking a whole group like that. Without a world-ending reason that is.”

A few looks got thrown around before Bobby sighed and started explaining, the others adding in from time to time. It took some time but Xander waited until they had finished before asking any questions.

“Wow. That’s… rather discouraging.” He let out a breath. “So you think the main plan behind it all is whatever is located in the giant pentagram?” He waved at the blueprints Ash had littering the old desk.

“It makes the most sense. And you only need one to open the door,” Bobby advised sadly, clearly remembering the events at Cold Oaks.

“So is there anyway to make sure the door doesn’t open? Even with the key,” Xander suggested. “I’m partial to explosives myself, but I’m not sure that won’t open it anyway.”

“But if we could disable the lock, then the key won’t work.” Ellen caught on.

“It’s a thought, but will we get there before the bad guys,” Bobby murmured in thought. No one said anything, too busy going over the possibilities and ideas in their own minds. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Bobby left to go answer it, leaving the other three to continue their pondering. When he returned two rather tall men followed him. Xander didn’t think much of it, but Bobby’s white face and covert looks at the really tall man, along with the shock from Ash and Ellen had him thinking something wasn’t exactly right.

“Sam!” Ellen blinked catching the look from Dean. A forced smile grew. “I’m glad to see you’re ok. You had us worried there.”

“Yeah sorry about that.” He offered them a sheepish smile. His hazel eyes turned confused when they landed on Xander. “Um…”

“Name’s Xander.” The teen took pity on the older male.

“Sam. And this is my brother Dean,” came the polite reply. The smaller male just nodded to him before changing the subject.

“So have you guys figured anything out about what the demon wants?”

It didn’t take long to catch the brothers up on everything Ash had found out and the various theories they had. 

“Right, so to stop him we need to get there before Jake,” Sam concluded. 

The group began gathering the things they would need. About halfway through Xander started feeling light headed again. He frowned in concern. The spell should have worn off; he shouldn’t be feeling this way. Unfortunately his body disagreed and unconsciousness finally claimed him. 

“What happened,” Bobby called when he heard a thump. 

Ash found Xander passed out. “It’s Xander. The kid’s passed out again.”

“Damn it. That spell must have took more outta him than we thought.” Bobby grumped, helping the other man to pick Xander up and carry him to the guest room. Ellen and the Winchesters found them, all looking at them in question. “Boy’s gonna have to stay behind. That spell wore him out worse than we thought. He won’t have the energy to help us.”

“What spell,” Sam queried. Dean whispered to him quickly explaining the incident at the Roadhouse. The young hunter turned awed filled eyes on the prone form. 

“We can’t stay so leave him a note,” Dean advised. “The kid will understand since we’re going to save lives. If we have to we can explain further when we get back.”

Ellen wasn’t too happy about it but she did leave a note and her cell number as well as Bobby’s number so the kid could get in touch with them if he needed to. As the group left none of them realized it would be a while before they saw Xander again.


	5. chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was informed I posted chapter 4 twice. Thank you for letting me know. 
> 
> Here is the correct chapter.

The second time Xander woke in Bobby’s guest room he felt better than the first. Pushing himself into a sitting position he tried to remember what had happened. Heading downstairs it didn’t take long to realize that the others had left. Not that he blamed them. From what he remembered of the issue at hand they needed to move fast to beat that Jake person to the devil’s gate or whatever it was. 

He found the note in the kitchen, somewhat touched that they bothered to do that, and to give him their contact numbers. And though Bobby wrote that he could have anything in the fridge Xander just had some water and a banana. He had learned how to survive not eating much thanks to his parents, and his road trip with limited funds had enforced the lesson. 

He found his backpack by the door and he thanked the powers it had survived the fire at the Roadhouse. Ellen must have put it in her car when they came here. A quick look through verified his weapons and cash were still in place. 

“So Whistler, you going to tell me why I passed out that second time? Because I know the spell didn’t do that,” he spoke without looking at the demon that had materialized behind him. 

“Had to keep ya from going with ‘em kid. Only way to do it without appearing in front of ‘em, which would be bad,” he answered. 

“And why couldn’t I go with them?”

“They were going to a Devil’s gate. And you were born and raised in Sunnydale and are considered a Hellmouth baby.” At Xander’s silent look telling him to continue he did so. “Those born and raised on a Hellmouth generally absorb the energy from the Hellmouth over the course of their life. Before you ask, Willow was not born in Sunnydale. It’s one of the reasons why demons, the females especially, liked you so much. You radiate the power. The fact that you’ve remained good and work to help people is unusual. Most Hellmouth babies either die young or turn evil. Then again there is a theory that you’re a chaos child as well. Probably why you have the ability to turn prophecies on their heads.”

“Okay.” Xander tried to process the information. “So since I have energy from the Hellmouth still…how would it affect the devil’s gate thing?”

“They’d feed off each other and cause a bigger problem. Also with you being a natural medium, some of those spirits would have tried to take you over. It wouldn’t have been good.” 

Sighing heavily he just nodded in acceptance. “Right, so stay away from devil’s gates. I guess I better head out then.”

“You could stay ya know. That Bobby wouldn’t mind,” Whistler suggested. 

“No. I won’t freeload. Besides I don’t want to inconvenience anyone. Anywhere in particular I might be needed?”

The balance demon sighed. He’d hoped he could convince he kid to stay, especially given his age and his connection to the Winchester brothers, though none knew it yet. He guessed he’d have to put that ball in the older boys’ court since Xander would likely pretend it didn’t matter. He’d been too twisted by Harris’ on the idea of family to take the chance to accept them fully. 

“Yeah kid. A small clan further east could use your help with some things…”

That afternoon Xander headed out, only a note left behind for Bobby and the others to prove he had once been there.


	6. chapter 6

Sam chuckled quietly as he listened to Dean rant on and on about Bella and how she stole his lottery tickets. He admitted that the whole fiasco with the rabbit foot could have gone better but at least they were alive. Sadly Dean didn’t see it that way.

Currently they were investigating their dad’s storage unit for anything else overly dangerous as well as making sure to secure it better. With any luck they wouldn’t have to deal with another situation like this one.

Picking up a curious looking book to sift through he frowned when a folder of papers fell to the floor. Normally his dad didn’t store things that way, unless he wanted to keep it hidden. Interest peeked he grabbed the folder and started examining the contents. The more he read the paler he became.

“And really, who sells dangerous supernatural stuff to people? That’s just asking for…”

“Dean.”

“…Trouble. But no, she just has to make a buck…”

“Dean!”

“What?” Frustrated that his tirade got interrupted Dean turned to his younger brother only to grow concerned as he saw his face. “What’s wrong Sam?”

Silently he handed over the folder waiting for the inevitable blow up.

“What the fuck! This can’t be right!”

“The documents are official. And why would he check up on the kid if he wasn’t sure,” Sam argued, knowing his brother wasn’t really denying the possibility but the fact their dad never told him. “We have another brother.”

Dean didn’t reply, instead he started throwing a few random objects around in his anger. Sam picked up the dropped folder, catching a glimpse of a photo. Pulling it out he froze again, this time in recognition. Turning it over he saw his father’s neat lettering identifying the person in the photo as Alex.

“Dean. Our kid brother,” his voice felt tight. “It’s Xander.” Holding out the photo for Dean he looked to him for advice on what they should do.

Dean didn’t have an answer for him. How did one handle a secret this big? It’s not like they could go find the kid and say ‘hey we’re your brothers, how have ya been’. Hell the kid he met was young but still an adult. He doubted Xander would even want them in his life, even if they all did the same thing. This made him wonder. Did their dad train Xander? Did the kid even know? If so why not say something to them?

So many questions ran through his mind. So many scenarios and possibilities that he had a hard time finding just one to grasp.

While Dean contemplated their options Sam returned to studying the birth certificate. The date had him confused. From what Bobby and Ellen had told him Xander claimed to be eighteen. But the date on the certificate and his age didn’t match up. And since the certificate was clearly real this could pose a problem.

“Dean. Check out the date on this certificate. Does it mean what I think it means?”

Taking the offered document Dean examined the date as Sam had asked. His mind broke down the math quickly and soon had him swearing up a storm.

“That’s what I thought,” Sam sighed heavily. “Now what?”

“Now we find him and look after him,” Dean growled, snatching the file containing the documents. He stormed out of the storage unit, mind forming plan after plan for this new situation.

“Right,” Sam agreed quietly, locking the unit up tight.


	7. chapter 7

The loud banging at the door woke Xander from a dead sleep. For a moment he thought he was back in Sunnydale and Tony was trying to get into his room in a drunken rage. It took longer than he liked to calm down his beating heart and realize his actual location. The old gaudy wallpaper helped a lot with that.

Blinking sleepily he checked the bedside clock which glared back a rather disheartening 4:00A.M.

Why someone wanted to bother him now he didn’t know. Pushing himself up and out of bed took more energy than he really had. Bruises and wounds pulled at the movement sending screaming pain throughout his body. He’d only gotten to bed a little over an hour ago, exhausted and beaten from his latest hunt involving a nest of demonic vampires. He seriously contemplated ignoring the ‘wake-up call’, but the persistent pounding proved too much.

Palming his nine-millimeter he stayed to the side of the door. Just because he was exhausted didn’t mean he’d be stupid.

“Who is it?”

“Open the door Xander!” A rather familiar voice barked from outside. It brought up a vague memory but his tired brain just couldn’t grasp it. It could however throw out a sarcastic quip.

“Not by the hair on my chiny chin, chin.”

There was a long pause outside his door followed by laughter from one person and cursing from another.

“Xander, it’s Sam and Dean. From Bobby’s place?”

That jogged his memory. “Oh, right.” Unlocking the bolts he opened the door getting a good look at them but still keeping the gun ready. The two familiar faces looked back at him and seemed human enough. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

Dean looked ready to explode but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Sam gave him a slightly forced smile. “We have something we need to talk with you about. That would be better discussing inside.”

‘So much for sleep,’ Xander wearily thought as he stepped back to allow them inside, not voicing an invite. Considering they could pass through the door and under the devil’s trap he knew they weren’t demons or vampires. Once they passed him he locked and bolted the door again before turning to his unexpected guests. Both of them had looks of shock and horror at his appearance. Glancing down he noted he was only in his boxers and all his injuries were proudly displayed. “Oh, yeah, sorry.”

Moving towards the bed he reached for a shirt only to be stopped by Sam.

“Xander, dude, let us patch you up. Some of those don’t look properly cleaned,” he stated in a gentle voice as if afraid to startle the kid.

Shrugging he pointed towards the first aid kit on the table. “Thanks, didn’t do much when I got back ‘cause I was too tired. Figured I’d deal with it in the morning.”

Dean grabbed the well stocked kit first, too angry to speak and needing to do something with his hands. Patching up his newly found little brother seemed the best thing he could do. Sam left him to it, knowing how Dean got when a member of his family was hurt. And the kid certainly looked like someone or something put him through the ringer.

So he pulled one of the chairs taking a seat in front of Xander who sat on the edge of the bed, Dean working on his left side at the moment.

“So… not that it’s not nice to see you guys again but what are you doing here?” The teen gazed at Sam curiously, trying not to flinch from the antiseptic stinging at his wounds.

“We were looking for you. We uh… we found some information pertaining to you and thought it best to discuss it face to face, but you’re kind of hard to find.” Sam allowed a small sheepish grin. Bobby and Dean had ranted for days trying to find one solid lead on the kid. Apparently he stayed off the grid by using only cash and not having a cell phone.

Xander eyed him suspiciously. “It’s not a prophecy is it? Because I hate prophecies and refuse to abide by them.”

This time Dean snorted. “No definitely not.”

At Xander’s expectant look Sam continued. “Um… we were going through some of our dad’s old things when we found these documents.” He handed the folder to Xander who gave him a confused look before flipping through the papers. He froze at the first document, his birth certificate. “Our last name is Winchester. I know we were never formally introduced. Our dad was John Winchester, and apparently you’re our brother.”

Xander didn’t know what to think. The document staring up at him was identical to the one he found in his old house. Glancing up at Sam he found the older male looking at him expectantly, and he could feel Dean tensing. Obviously they wanted him to say something, but he didn’t know what. 

“Okay…” 

“Okay? We just told you we’re family and all you can say is Okay,” Dean snipped irritably. 

“Look I’m sorry but ‘family’ really isn’t something I put much stock in. I mean I knew Tony wasn’t my old man, but I never planned to find my real father. And to learn that now I have brothers and I’m sort of bemused…”

“Yeah, well it means something to us,” Dean advised, moving to sit by Sam so he could face Xander as well. “And we aren’t going to let you continue going on hunting by yourself, especially considering you’re only sixteen.” 

Xander froze trying to keep from showing his complete reaction. Taking a steadying breath he tried to reason with the two. “Look, I may be sixteen, but I’ve graduated high school. And I’ve technically been taking care of myself since I was about four. So you guys don’t have any obligation or responsibility for me…”

“Taking care of yourself since you were four?” Sam stared at him in shock, eyes showing nothing but concern. Dean’s frown became more severe. Xander sighed wearily. He got the feeling he would never be able to pull one over on either of the two. “Why would you have to? You lived with your mom and step-dad right?”

It took a lot to keep the groan in. “Not all parents want their kids, and by that age my mom got over her ‘I want to be a mom’ phase. Tony… well let’s just say he never liked me.”

“Did he ever hurt you?” Dean’s voice was extremely calm which would have sent warning sirens through Xander’s mind, if he weren’t so tired. Willow had the same tone before he ended up in deep trouble.

Tired, irritated and slightly angry Xander finally snapped. “Yeah, he did. I ended up in the hospital so much I had my own room there. But no one did a damn thing about it. Then I find out the ass wasn’t even my real father. And mom was so far in the bottle that she couldn’t give a damn about me at all. Hell she forged my age on my school forms so she could get me out of the house sooner. So I made my own family and they eventually lost interest in me too. So it’s really better off that I’m on my own.” The final words faded, the exhaustion catching up to him as he rubbed his hands over his face. 

Sam looked on with sadness as he took in Xander’s defeated stature. He was suddenly reminded of Max and felt sick to his stomach. 

Dean clenched his fists trying hard to reign in his temper. He so wanted to find Tony Harris and pulverize the bastard for even daring to touch Xander. He also wanted to yell at his father for keeping Xander from them. The kid should have been with them. It would take time but he vowed to show the kid what real family meant. 

“Well we don’t agree with your assessment. And too bad for you we both out rank you as your much older brothers,” Dean stated evenly. “The only thing you’re going to do is go to bed. Sam and me are camping out here as well. Then tomorrow we’ll figure out where we’re ALL headed next.” 

Xander looked at him in surprise and awe only to get interrupted by Sam before he could speak. 

“Don’t even try to argue. He’s extremely stubborn. In fact it’s a family trait.” He grinned at the flabbergasted teen moving to grab his gear and set up camp. 

Xander watched as his two ‘brothers’ made themselves comfortable in his room. Figuring he’d deal with it tomorrow he fell back into the bed, content to let sleep take him once more.


	8. chapter 8

Xander had been with his two brothers for the past three months and it had been interesting to say the least. Sam constantly tried to show him things and ask him questions; especially once he unintentionally let it out that he researched various myths and legends. Dean took a bit of a different approach, as he was not the emotional type, as such he taught Xander better self-defense. His soldier personality approved and added on top of those lessons. While not quite a match for his oldest brother, he could stand up to Dean pretty evenly. 

They taught him more about their type of hunting and demons while he hinted at the ones he had dealt with. So far he had been with them on a few salt-n-burns, which he found rather disconcerting. He joined them in a strange instance of fairy tales coming to life and another where a hunter from their past had become a vampire then tried to kill Sam. The type of vampire he became had freaked Xander out since they were much harder to kill. His brothers thought he was just bothered by the idea of vampires, as he hadn’t brought up a lot of his past hunting. Not really wanting to get into it he kept quiet. 

The thing that really bugged him was the way the two constantly kept an eye on him. They made sure he had a cell phone and made him check in every day if they were not with him. When they stopped to eat Sam constantly made sure he had something healthy while Dean made sure he finished everything on his plate. It was exhausting living with two mother hens. More than that, it was confusing. 

And when confused in the past he went to one of two people. For supernatural confusion he saw Giles. For the personal side of life he hit up Mrs. Summers. 

He waited until his brothers went out for the evening, assuring them that he’d be fine hanging in the room alone. Dean was planning to hustle up some funds while Sam watched his back. He waited a good twenty minutes before slipping out of the room and finding a payphone. 

It took a couple of days to scrounge up enough spare change for the call, as he didn’t want to use the cell phone his brothers got him, the minutes he had were for contacting them. Luckily the phone was in the hotel lobby and he wouldn’t get into much trouble as he was technically still in the hotel.

He waited somewhat anxiously as the phone rang. He hoped it wasn’t too early there. He kept messing up his time zones with how much they had been traveling. 

“Hello?”

He let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “Hey Mrs. Summers. How are you?”

“Xander! I’m so glad to hear from you! Are you ok?” Her voice was full of warmth and honest affection. He had to force back the tears that formed. 

“I’m good. Enjoying my road trip. How’s the Dale?”

“Well it’s the same as far as I know. Though Buffy has been complaining it’s been too quiet for her. Do you want to speak to her? I can get her if you want?”

“No, I… I actually called to speak to you,” he rushed on, words blurring together some. “I need some advice and I didn’t know who else could help.”

“Sure Xander, I’m happy to help you. What’s wrong?”

That’s what he loved about Mrs. Summers; she always had time to listen. 

“You see, Tony Harris isn’t my real father. I’ve known for some time but I never planned to meet my real father. But these guys I’ve met on the road found out that they’re my brothers, well half brothers,” he blurted out figuring to get it in the open. “So they decided that I should travel with them, since they live on the road too and they have a car and I don’t and well… I’m really only sixteen so they’re sort of using that against me too. But it’s not like they’re bad guys. I mean they hunt supernatural bad guys and save people ya know? They’ve even been helping me learn to look after myself. It’s just well… they keep asking me things about myself, and they keep checking up on me, and telling me to eat more and all sorts of little things that well…”

“Things that a real family does,” she cut to the chase.

“Yeah,” he sighed heavily, leaning against the wall. “And it’s sort of freaking me out.”

Hundreds of miles away Joyce Summers took a moment to compose herself. She had always known there was something wrong with Xander’s family she just didn’t have proof. “Because you’re not used to people caring that much?”

“Yeah. I mean not that the girls weren’t great but… they kept pushing me to the side because I was ‘normal’. Though considering everything I’ve done and been through how they came up with that I don’t know,” he grumbled into the phone and Joyce could just imagine the pout on his face. “And you and Giles helped when you could but you guys had your own responsibilities. I just… I just don’t know how to handle this? I mean, it’s great, they’re great but what happens when…”

“Xander.” Joyce felt her heart hurt for the young man. 

What neither knew was that Sam had come back early and finding Xander missing had gone searching for the young man. He felt bad about eavesdropping on his little brother, but he also kind of realized what Dean felt when he had done it to him all those years ago. He couldn’t help but look out for his kid brother. Discovering this new worry and responsibility made his respect for Dean grow even more. 

“Honey, are you afraid they’re going to abandon you?”

“I don’t know… maybe? Yes? I mean everyone else did at some point. What if they realize I’m worthless too?” His voice grew quieter in shame and fear. 

“Oh sweetheart.” Joyce wanted to cry. “You are not worthless! If it wasn’t for you Buffy would have died against the master! You’ve supported her and the others regardless of the cost to yourself. That is not worthless Xander!” 

“Thanks Mrs. Summers.” Xander sniffed, trying to keep the tears back. 

“Now Xander, I know you’re not used to the care they are giving you, but just give it a chance. You might find something worth keeping. Don’t give up hope in your family just because the one you knew before wasn’t great,” she encouraged. “And if they hurt you at all, just let me and Giles know and we’ll make them wish they were never born.”

Xander gave a watery chuckle at that. “It’s good to know I have someone watching my back.”

“Always sweetie. If you need anything you know you can call me.” 

“I will. Since I can’t come back I like keeping in touch with you and Giles. I’m just sorry I can’t help keep the Hellmouth safe.” 

“Don’t worry about it Xander. From what you and Giles have told me you’ve helped a lot of people since you left. That’s just as important.”

“I guess. It just doesn’t feel the same. And the bad guys are different. I mean the vamps my brothers faced off with are totally different than the vamps I know. But I don’t know how much I should tell them because I don’t want them to think I’m crazy,” he babbled. 

“I doubt they would think you’re crazy Xander. Give them a chance. You have reference materials right? So if they did question you could just show them,” she reasoned. 

Chuckling a bit he managed to calm down. “This is why I called you. You always have the right answer.”

“I try. Now don’t worry. Just be yourself and learn about your brothers,” Joyce advised in her motherly voice. 

“I’ll try. Thanks Mrs. Summers. I’ll call you guys with an update later. Take care of yourself.” 

“You too Xander. Let me know if you stay anywhere long enough for me to send you a care package.”

“Will do.”

The call ended shortly after and Xander felt a bit better for it. With a lighter heart he made his way back to the room. 

Sam waited for Xander to pass him and out of the hotel lobby before stepping away from his hiding place. He frowned going over what he heard. Xander was afraid they would abandon him like his ‘family’ and apparently some of his friends had done. Afraid they would find him worthless. 

And he thought Dean had insecurities. 

He may need to look a bit more into his little brother’s past. He definitely wanted to find out more about Mrs. Summers and this Giles person, especially if Xander kept in contact with them.


	9. chapter 9

Dean huffed at Sam’s continued Grinch attitude towards Christmas. He would never voice it but it hurt that Sam seemed to dismiss all the hard work Dean had put into trying to make the holiday normal for him as kids. At least Xander had shown some enthusiasm, though that could have been due to the box of homemade cookies he got from some lady in his old hometown. He should probably find out her address to write a thank you and a ‘please send more’ card. Cause those were some damn good cookies. Not quite like pie but still good.

They certainly deserved the treats after dealing with the Cringles. Those were some f-ed up pagan gods. Seriously, stealing people to eat right before Christmas? Not cool.

It also didn’t help that the female of the pair seemed to have a hard on for Xander. The kid hadn’t stopped muttering about a ‘demon magnet’ or something since then. He and Sam really needed to find out more about the kid’s past. They had come close a few times but then the kid would just clam up, fear and worry shining out of his eyes.

Normally Dean would ‘persuade’ his younger brother to tell him what he wanted to know. But given Xander’s past with that douche bag Harris, he didn’t think that route would work. Sam had mentioned his little phone call to the lady that sent the cookies. It appeared that the only way to get the kid to open up was to head down to ‘chick-flickville’, a place Dean hated going to. So he had charged Sam with that particular mission. He’d failed surprisingly enough.

His eyes moved from the TV and slid to the innocent looking bottle on the coffee table. Perhaps there was another way?

Xander had gone to the front desk to pick something up, so he had time. Spying the kid’s half-empty coke he made his move.

“What are you doing?” Sam eyed his brother in weary exasperation.

“What? It’s Christmas. I’m just spreading the cheer.” He gave Sam one of his innocent looks, which he knew the other didn’t buy for a second. The disbelieving eyebrow proved that. “Fine, I figured if we get the kid drunk enough he’ll finally open up and tell us what we want to know.”

“Dean that is not the way to get him to open up to us.”

“Do you have a better idea Samantha?” At the constipated look he would guess no. “’Cause every time we’ve tried to get him to talk he shuts down. I even let you try you’re touchy feely methods and those didn’t work. So now we’re trying mine.”

“He’s going to taste it you know,” Sam argued, arms crossed in his patent ‘I know better than you’ way.

“It’s vodka. The sugar in the coke will hide it fine. Trust me.” He threw back his own patent ‘I’m the older brother so I’m always right’ look, earning an eye roll.

Before Sam could dispute him further Xander came back into the room, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Something good I take it?” Dean grinned at the teen, happy to see someone was enjoying the festive cheer.

“Yup! It’s from Giles and Mrs. Summers and the girls.” He placed the fairly large box down on the table.

With the glee of a child he ripped into the outer box to get to the prize inside. Packing peanuts and tissue paper flew through the air like snow adding somewhat nicely to the Christmas decorations Dean had managed to scrounge up. He pulled out two wrapped packages reading the names on them before tossing each to one of his surprised brothers.

“What’s this?” Dean frowned as he studied the long package that Xander threw at him.

“A gift,” Xander answered in his ‘duh’ voice.

“I know that brat; I mean why’d they send us gifts?”

“Cause you’re my brothers. And I might have mentioned you’d like them,” came the somewhat sheepish reply.

“They didn’t have to do that,” Sam advised, his voice soft with emotion.

“It gives them an excuse to shop.” Xander shrugged, placing the Tupperware tin of cookies on the table, already shoving one into his mouth. He then turned to his owns gifts after washing down the cookies with his coke. He frowned at the flatness of the soda, thinking he tasted something off, but then shrugged and continued to examine his presents.

Dean smirked as he watched the kid continue to sip from his coke, pleased his plan worked so well. The grumpy look Sam shot him at his success only increased his pleasure. Turning to the green package he carefully plied the tape off and slid the box out of the wrapping. With a puzzled frown he opened the plan wooden box to find a simply decorated silver knife lay out on velvet inside. Picking it up he noted the runic patterns and scriptures etched into the blade and handle.

“Whoa! Giles got you a Romanian blade from the monks of St. Istvan.” Xander’s awed voice startled him from his own perusal of the blade. “Lucky!”

“St. Istvan monks huh?”

“How did you know that Xander,” Sam asked, gazing at their youngest curiously.

“From the inscriptions.” He waved towards the knife. “Those are the typical spells and power seals they put on their weapons.”

“You can read these?” Dean pointed to the two different scripts.

“Yup. Had to learn.” His grin became more wistful. “Most of Giles’ books are in archaic languages. It sucked having to learn, but we needed to know who the next big bad was and how to stop it.”

The two older siblings shared a look. Clearly the alcohol was working, as he had never even hinted such knowledge before.

“What other languages do you know,” Sam pushed gently.

“Uh, Latin, Sumerian, some Greek, a little Linear B, Flayr, Egyptian and some others. Mostly I know the main words like danger, death, end of all. Then I pass the books to the experts.” He shrugged happily. “I’m just glad I could help with the research despite how stupid I am.”

“You’re not stupid Xander,” Dean barked quickly, disliking his brother putting himself down.

“He’s right Xander,” Sam added sternly. “I looked into your school records. Your grades weren’t great, but you were in advanced classes, and considering you hunted on top of that you did really well.”

“I was?” They both nodded. “Huh, guess that explains how I was in most of Willow’s classes. She’s a certified genius. Always thought it was weird…”

Deciding to get away from this subject Dean turned to Sam. “So what did you get?”

Sam caught on and sighed heavily but complied and opened the cheerful blue wrapping. He frowned in confusion at the disk he discovered. “It’s some kind of CD.”

“What’d they burn you some of those Emo songs you like,” Dean teased.

“Shut up,” Sam griped.

“Oh! I bet I know what that is.” Xander moved forward and tipped the CD towards him to look. “Yup! That’s Giles’ hand writing, it’s kind of hard to understand. It should be a copy of all the books he’s scanned to date into his virtual library. So much easier to transport than hundreds of heavy old books!”

“Wait.” Sam blinked, awe overcoming him. “Are you saying this is a collection of his supernatural books?”

“Yeah. We started scanning them in school, to save the older texts since they were fading. It was Willow’s idea ‘cause Giles hates technology. He barely manages email. Anyway we thought this would help if we had to go on the run or if we had to blow up another school. But we found out that sometimes there are spirits trapped in the books, and reading them brings them out which is a no-no. After that we had to be really careful to make sure no more demons were sealed up before scanning.”

Both Dean and Sam stared blankly at the boy as they tried to process just what Xander had said.

“A demon was trapped in a book and you released it,” Dean clarified.

“Uh huh.”

“Xander,” Sam jumped in before Dean could loose it. “Why don’t you tell us about how you found out about the supernatural and what you’ve been doing up till you found us?”

The teen blinked at them, his eyes slightly glazed from the booze he had consumed. “You really want to know?”

“Yeah, we do.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “It all mainly started on the first day of sophomore year of high school. There was this girl…”

The two older Winchesters listened intently as Xander explained his years of fighting the supernatural. There were times that both wanted to storm out and hit something, others where they wanted to wrap the kid up in a hug. Sometimes they had to get him to clarify something as his speech would slur or he would skip parts given his inebriated state. He had just finished telling them about a run-in with some kind of slime demon in Oxnard when he suddenly slumped forward.

Dean leaned forward and checked on the kid. “Fast asleep. Guess he can’t hold his liquor any more than you can.” He didn’t bother smothering his grin at Sam’s bitch face. “Come on help me get him in bed.”

It didn’t take long for them to situate their brother in one of the beds, pulling off his shoes and tucking the blankets around him. Once done they settled back onto the couches in the room, both lost in their own thoughts.


	10. chapter 10

Xander yawned trying to stretch out his tired muscles. The bus ride to Broward County, Florida took longer than he anticipated. Which had Dean giving him hell whenever he called to give them an update. Not that he could blame his brother. It had taken a lot to get the older man to even let him go off on his own, especially after the incident with the witches and demons. 

He really disliked Ruby. Something about her was just…wrong. 

Anyway, he’d gotten a call from Whistler of all people, asking for assistance with a treaty between two of the more peaceful demon clans. They just needed a neutral party to facilitate. Somehow his name came up and both parties agreed.   
He couldn’t think of why, but if it would stave off a war he’d give it a try. 

Convincing his brothers had not been easy, especially since they were not allowed at the shindig. A point that had been made absolute by both clans. 

Dean took it as an insult. Xander thought he should feel pleased that their reputation held such weight. 

In the end it took Whistler actually showing up and swearing to keep him out of trouble, plus scheduled contact times that Xander could not miss or all bets were off. The balance demon had assured them he’d be returned in one piece in at least two weeks. It had taken a bit over three.

As such he seriously doubted Dean would let him go on his own again, even with Sam backing him. The last conversation they had over the phone had certainly indicated as much. 

So once the treaty had wrapped up and he managed to safely get away without bodily harm or ending up some demon’s love toy he hopped the earliest bus he could find and headed to meet up with his brothers. He managed to catch his lost sleep on the way, though he had learned to appreciate the back seat of the Impala more. It had room to stretch out, the bus seats didn’t. 

Glancing out the window he saw the welcome sign for Broward. It looked like any other small town they had passed through. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel something the moment the bus crossed the city line. Like a tingle over his skin, something he hadn’t really felt since Sunnydale. 

Some kind of magic or power enveloped the whole town. 

Thanking the driver he nearly bounced out of the bus, pleased to be on solid ground, able to walk. He’d always had an abundance of energy, and sitting too long certainly didn’t help. Dean and Sam had learned it the hard way their first time together in the car for an extended time period. They now made sure to make Xander wear himself out before throwing him in the car for more than two hours at a time. 

Checking the address of the motel his brothers were staying at he almost missed them all together. Then again catching the sight of his usually calm older brother throwing someone against a fence while Dean stood by would certainly grab his attention. 

Frowning he looked at the man they had cornered, Sam holding a wooden stake covered in something, to the man’s neck. Curious he dashed across the street.

“Guys! What’s going on?” 

Both Dean and Sam turned to him in surprise, though the latter never let go of the man in his hold. 

“Xander! How are you here?” Sam frowned in confusion.

“Uh, the bus drove in and dropped me off?” 

Dean snorted. “Yeah, you definitely got your smart mouth from our side of the family.”

“So. Why are you threatening to kill this guy?” He turned to the man who had brown hair and playful eyes, though he could have sworn he’d had grey hair when he was across the street. In fact, even his facial features looked different. 

His question brought Sam’s attention back to the man, whom he pushed against the fence roughly. Dean sighed as he explained.

“Apparently Sam has been living Tuesday over and over again and he’s the only one who remembers. Turns out, Loki here, a trickster, is the cause of all this.”

Xander studied the other man more closely, eyes widening a bit as the outline of giant wings started to form. He blinked and it was gone, though the trickster was looking at him just as closely. “Um…why?”

“Because we tried to kill him before,” Sam snapped. “Only it didn’t take last time so this time we’ll have to make sure it does.”

“Whoa!” Loki coughed as the stake dug into his throat some more. “I was just trying to teach you a lesson Sammy-boy.”

“How is killing Dean over and over again a lesson,” Sam bellowed, his face red with anger. 

Xander turned to Dean receiving a shrug and nod in confirmation, though he didn’t seem to remember any of it. 

“Because Sam,” Loki huffed in annoyance. “You have to learn that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can’t save Dean! You two have constantly sacrificed yourselves for each other and that leads to nothing but badness!” 

Xander could tell there was a lot of meaning to those words. From Sam’s furious face and Dean’s rather blank look he knew whatever it was he had not been privy to the information. For a moment he wanted to ask, but catching the new tension in Sam’s body he decided to step in. 

“Time out!” All three of the older males turned to him in surprise. “Sam let him go and calm down.”

“What…”

“You heard me. Don’t make me pull a red card,” he chided. 

So surprised by the command Sam actually let Loki go. 

“Thanks kid.” The trickster patted down his jacket coat. 

“Hold up,” Xander ordered, keeping the other being from disappearing. “You and I need to have a chat.”

“We do?”

“Yeah, Loki,” he put emphasis on the name. “We do.”

Blinking at the kid the god nodded once taking a step to the side. 

“Guys, I’m gonna have a chat with him and I’ll be right back,” Xander informed his brothers.

“The hell you are,” Dean growled. “You don’t know what he could do to you Xan!”

“It’s cool. I’m just going to speak to him, we’ll be right over there.” He tried to placate them both, noting Sam seemed too mad to even speak. Not willing to argue any further he walked over to Loki. 

“So what do we need to speak of kid?” The god was highly intrigued by this teen. He could sense the energies coming off of him. 

“Dean made a deal didn’t he? To save Sam,” he stated evenly, keeping his voice low. 

That clearly surprised the other male. “Yeah he did. But you didn’t know that, did you?”

“No,” he agreed. “But I can make a guess considering what I’ve heard so far. What I want to know is why you care about it. What is it about their deal that has you so riled up? From what I understand plenty of people make deals, yet they’re the ones you’re pissed at.” 

The other eyed him up as if weighing his soul. Xander didn’t falter; he’d faced worse. 

“It bothers me because they are putting the prophecy into motion. Dean’s gonna die and go to hell, Sam’s not gonna be able to stop that. Then Dean’s gonna break and the first seal is gonna go bye bye,” he huffed, arms crossed defiantly. “Then they’re gonna come to earth and everything on this plane is gonna die!” 

Xander stayed quiet absorbing the information. “Which one?”

“What?”

“Which prophecy,” Xander clarified. “See I’ve had experience with a few, and they’ve yet to completely hold up. The only ones that come true are those you walk into without fighting. Thus becoming self-fulfilled prophecies.”

Loki stared at the kid before him dumbfounded. “It’s a prophecy! You can’t stop them!”

“Why not? As far as I see it just because some dude saw something thousands of years ago doesn’t mean it has to happen, that you can’t fight against it. I mean, if we were all bound to some kind of fate, why did God bother to give us free will?” He swayed back and forth on his heels, tone conversational. “See I had a friend that was told she was destined to die at the hands of the Master. Her Watcher and her ‘boyfriend’ of the time gave up all hope for her simply because someone wrote it down centuries ago. They practically convinced her it was fate. So off she went to face the Master, all by herself. I, however, chose to fight fate and forced her said ‘boyfriend’ to lead me to the Master. True she had died, from drowning, but a course in CPR saved her life and she still lives to this day. Now you can argue that the prophecy did come true, but it’s all in how you interpret it. In the end she’s alive and the prophecy was negated.”

Loki practically gapped at the kid. Did he mean what he thought he meant? Was this the kid that had half the pagan gods and other powers in a tizzy? Surely not!

“As for Sam and Dean sacrificing themselves for each other… well what do you expect?” Xander gave him a look that clearly suggested he was the mental one here. “They’re brothers, who grew up with only themselves to count on. I don’t know everything about them, but even I can tell their relationship is stronger than anything. But then again they’ve lived through life and death situations with only each other to cling too. And I get that.” He paused slightly. “Before I had to leave Sunnydale for the safety of the world, I would have easily given my life for one of my friends. I still would.” Brushing some stray strands from his face he measured the man in front of him up. “The question really comes down to whether or not you’re willing to fight against ‘fate’ and supposed prophecies. From what I can see, you’re a very powerful being.” Loki cast him a sharp glance at his choice in words. “And I’m surprised you’d be bothered with a little thing like a prophecy.”

“You don’t understand. You don’t go against His will,” Loki barked in anger.

“Really? Because I’m kind of thinking you already did.” He reached slightly behind Loki, though in such a way his brothers would only think he was patting the man’s arm, and gently touched the feathers he could see outlined from the two giant wings that flickered in and out of his field of vision. “Regardless, can you blame them for choosing to hold onto the one thing that keeps them both sane? They risk their lives day in and day out to save the innocents from the dark they don’t want to know about. Is it really so wrong for them to fight to hold onto each other the only way they know how?” 

He stepped away from the stunned Loki. “Can you please let them out of this time loop thing? They’re not going to get your lesson, because neither one can fathom the idea of letting the other go willingly.”

Loki stared at the boy in disbelief, yet everything he said rang true. While he hated the fact the Winchester brothers had started the ball rolling on the apocalypse, he did have to agree that their circumstances and love for each other easily explained their actions. At one time hadn’t his brothers been the same? 

The kid made another good point. Why had He given humans free will if he didn’t intend for them to use it? But then why even make the prophecy? Unless…

Was He testing them? Finding out if they really followed his rule or if they were too blinded by ‘fate’ to do their true duty. To protect His children, all of them, regardless of the consequences. 

And if he really thought about it He had given them a choice back then when it all started. It hadn’t exactly sounded like one, yet in fact it had been. 

He needed to think on this, to go over his memories and find the truths he ignored. 

Golden brown eyes studied the youth in front of him. The boy that saw his true form and remained unaffected. It seemed he was the boy the rumors were about. The so-called prophesy breaker. Maybe, just maybe there was hope for the world yet. 

Loki snapped his fingers. “Okay. They’re free. But be warned, the prophesy you’re so sure doesn’t matter is bigger than you think.”

Xander considered this. “Any ideas where I might find some info on this ‘prophesy’?”

“I’ve heard it can be found in a Good book.” With that he blinked away, confident the teen had gotten the hint. 

Xander gazed blankly at the spot the trickster once stood his mind whirling with the possibilities. He’d gotten the clue alright and it left him somewhat dazed. He’d known there were higher beings, but after everything he’d been through he did question the existence of that particular one. Getting a good look at Loki’s true form had suspended his disbelief for the moment. 

It seemed he had some researching to do. 

“Xander? Xander!” Dean’s hand waving in front of his face snapped him from his thoughts. He looked at his two brothers both looking worried and agitated. 

“Sorry, lost in thought.” 

“Did he do anything to you? What did he say,” Sam demanded. 

“Let’s head to the hotel, then we need to talk.”


	11. chapter 11

Once again Xander found himself stuck in the hotel room alone waiting for his brothers to return from their nightly activity. Had it been a normal hunt or even some dive they were coming back from he might feel more inclined to pout and throw a fit. As they were spending the evening breaking and entering into the house of some ‘thief’ they had past experiences with, given the length of swearing Dean had gone through when explaining the whole story to him, he decided sitting this one out would prove beneficial. 

Instead he spent the time going over some of the documents that Giles had sent him. After his brief encounter with Loki and a long talk with his two brothers he buckled down into research mode.

While not particularly religious he knew which book the ‘Good Book’ referred to. The question was which one to use. According to Giles there were several different versions written over the years. So he also asked the man to check the big bad book of prophecies that they often found their yearly apocalypse in. Maybe they could use it as a cross reference to find the right version of the bible. The suggestion had the Englishman polishing is glasses for several minutes, clearly flabbergasted at the simple logic.

That in turn led to a discussion of Sunnydale’s current problems. Apparently the government couldn’t leave well enough alone and decided to ‘experiment’ with demons. The information had come from Oz, who had been the unfortunate guest at the new underground facility. Buffy, of course, hadn’t wanted to believe him since her new beau was involved. Once again she let her emotions cloud her logic and endanger the rest of the world.

While Xander knew he couldn’t go to Sunnydale, he had made some contacts in his time alone hunting that could possibly help. He told Giles this, and while the man initially balked at the idea, Xander pointed out that in the end the world came first, and it didn’t matter what the Council thought since they had fired Giles and Buffy had fired them. Best to get help where they could.

One quick call to his new friend Gibbs had set that ball rolling.

So here he was, chewing on cold pizza as he went through various print outs and compared them to what he found on the computer. It didn’t take much to realize that the prophecy came from Revelations. And as prophecies went this one had a whole bunch of scary written all through it. It talked of the four horseman, the whore of Babylon and even the Devil himself coming out to play. Granted it had the whole clause of the ‘good guys’, mainly the angles, will come down and do battle. However, it didn’t exactly end in a good way for the humans. No this prophecy needed to go the way of the Dinosaurs, as quietly into the night as possible.

Still, he didn’t think he had all the information. He had the Bible references and some obscure information from Giles’ library, but he needed the down low on the various players that humans wouldn’t have.

So now he had to decide who to call for help. Whistler was out because as much as he liked the demon he mainly worked for the Powers, and they wanted perfect balance. You only got that with no free will or no higher thinking beings, neither a good choice. He had some contacts in the underworld, but most of them would expect something in return for any knowledge and he doubted he could confirm the truth of their stories.

He paused as a sudden thought came to him. There was one clan that was completely neutral. They also happened to like him, a lot. They had the ability to morph into any form, sort of like Tonks in the Harry Potter series, along with other powers most could only dream of. While they generally ignored other beings, good and evil, they did know about their politics and other useful tidbits that he needed. But, how to contact them?

“Um…” He was so glad his brothers weren’t here, they would totally rib him. “Hi, it’s me Xander. I’m calling on a member of the Drackon* clan to assist me with information… Please.”

Silence filled the small room for a time after his words and he felt his shoulders slump in defeat. Maybe he needed to contact Whistler to contact the clan?

“You rang?” A sultry voice breathed into his ear startling him terribly. He jumped out of the chair and nearly face planted in the carpet as he stumbled away from the person suddenly standing behind him. Clear tinkling laughter followed.

“Geez! Don’t do that! I almost had a heart attack!”

“Forgive me young one, but I so rarely get to sneak up on anyone anymore. It is a small habit I indulge when I can.”

Now that he was able to see the demon he could tell that she had chosen a female humanoid figure, as many of their clan preferred. Had it not been for the nearly translucent skin, pointed ears and small fangs he would have thought her human. Even with the neon blue hair. Her eyes were a collection of blues and grays that swirled together mysteriously, leaving one mesmerized. She was about average height and had an athletic frame, all and all very pleasing.

“Hi… Thanks for coming. I’m Xander,” he stated once he got his wits back.

“I’m aware of your name Knight. I am Kasha,” she introduced a light smile on her lips to show she meant no ill will. “You have questions?”

“Wha…? Oh yes.” He shook the cobwebs out of his head and focused on the material. “It’s about a prophecy.”

“Yes, Revelations if I am not mistaken.” She chuckled as she examined one of the many papers strewn across the table. “I have no aversion to discussing this with you, however I dislike repeating myself and as your brothers play crucial roles it would be best to speak with them here.”

Xander blinked, somewhat surprised that she had agreed to speak to him, though the rest of it caught up. “Wait, my brothers are involved?”

“Yes. In fact even now they are being manipulated,” she answered calmly.

“But they’re… uh well they’re doing something illegal, for a good cause, but how are they being manipulated by Bela?”

“She is not the one of whom I speak. However she did make it possible for your brothers to be captured by the authorities and they currently reside in the local holding cells at the police station,” she stated wryly.

“Okay, that would be an issue.” He sighed heavily trying to think of ways to get his brothers out.

“That is not the main ‘issue’ as you put it. Currently several vermin have infected members of this town and surround the structure. Soon they will launch their campaign to siege the building and then your brothers,” she advised softly, eyes studying him.

“Is there a way to stop the people without hurting them? I’m not sure I can pull off a large exorcism…” He trailed off again, mind racing. He had to save his brothers and he had to make sure none of the innocents got hurt if he could help it.

“You truly are as they say.” Kasha smiled gently at the teen. “No need to worry. I will take you there and help you. However the vermin Ruby must not see us. I will explain why after this.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to drag you into a fight. I know your clan is neutral…”

She held up a hand to cut him off. “We are neutral in that we do not believe in good or evil, only right and wrong. In this the vermin are wrong. So I will help.”

“Thank you.”

“Do not thank me yet. There will be some we cannot save as this battle has already begun,” she warned.

“But if we can save some, that’s good right?”

“It is.” She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder gently and the two of them faded out from the hotel room.


	12. chapter 12

(Starts shortly after Ruby walks out back into the demon crowd.)

“Wow. I really don’t like her,” Xander muttered as he and Kasha finally made themselves visible to the remaining people in the room.

They had come in just after Ruby had made her way inside and started spouting off how she could defeat all the demons, including herself, but she needed the heart of a virgin to do so. Thankfully his brothers were better than that and had sent her packing.

“Hi guys.” He waved happily at his brothers and the other men that were slowly lowering their weapons.

“Xander, what the hell are you doing here?” Dean did not look happy, of course it could have been from the gunshot would to his shoulder.

“Kasha said you were in trouble and needed help. We can help so here we are.” He grinned his typical goofy grin knowing he’d so get it later from his oldest brother. Sam just looked slightly worried about the whole thing, though his eyes kept going to Xander’s companion. Xander instead turned to the other people in the room. “Hi, I’m Xander, this is Kasha.”

“Oh, uh, I’m Nancy, this is Dan and Agent Henriksen. You seem to know the Winchesters,” the young virgin introduced him to the others.

The dark FBI agent studied the boy for a moment. “Xander? As in Xander Harris? The kid Agent Fornell was complaining about?”

Dean and Sam shared a look while Xander grinned bigger. “Toby’s talking about me? I didn’t know he cared!”

“More like warning everyone to watch out in case they cross paths with you.” The agent smirked at the pout that induced. “Is she a demon too?”

“If you are referring to the vermin that surround this building then no,” Kasha stated coldly. “I would also warn you not to associate real demons with those miscreants. It will keep you in better health. However I suppose by your terms I would be considered a ‘demon’.”

“You know humans generally group things they don’t understand together,” Xander spoke calmly hoping to mollify her.

“I am aware, which is why I did not take any measures to punish for the insult,” she replied in kind. Turning to the brothers she continued. “You have drawn Devil Traps at all doorways and laid salt down?”

“Um, yes we did.” Sam looked at her somewhat confused.

Kasha simply made a clucking sound with her tongue as she thought over the options.

“If you’re done looking like a pretty statue can we get on with our plan,” Dean huffed impatiently.

One fine eyebrow lifted in his direction. “Your plan? The one to open the doors, break the salt lines and allow the vermin to enter while one of you says the incantation for the exorcism once they are all inside?”

“Yeah.” Dean looked slightly put out by her tone of voice.

“That will get more than a few of the townspeople killed,” she stated simply.

“Do you have a better idea?” This time Sam asked the question since Dean looked ready to explode.

“I would do the same, except I will erect a shield around you to keep you safe. Once the vermin are inside I will free their human host and destroy them.”

Several looks were passed between those that had been in the station since the beginning.

“You can do that,” Nancy asked tentatively.

“Yes.” They watched as she moved around the room some, a flick her wrist sending several desks to the sides of the room. A snap of her fingers had an elaborate circle forming in the room, they symbols glowing. “Please step in the circle and I will raise the shield.”

Those that didn’t understand what was going on turned to the Winchesters who in turn looked to their kid brother. Xander merely shrugged and walked into the circle with no issues. The two older siblings didn’t exactly like this but they would trust Xander’s judgment in this, so they too walked into the circle, followed quickly by the others.

“Whatever you do, do not leave the circle until I tell you it is safe,” Kasha advised. A few soft words had the wards flaring and a shield of power literally grew from the circle up over their heads forming a perfect dome. Another set of whispered words had the doors and windows to the station opening and they could hear the sound of several bodies moving towards them.

“She’s gone,” Henriksen exclaimed, eyes staring at the space Kasha once stood.

“Calm down, she’s just waiting for them all to get here,” Xander cautioned him, though internally he hoped he had not misplaced his trust.

It didn’t take long for the possessed townsfolk to surround their little dome, but surprisingly it held against the onslaught of the attack. Just when the group started to consider really panicking several of the possessed humans started freezing in place. Like dominos they all started falling one by one, black mist rising into the air above them.

The humans watched in stunned silence as the screaming mass of black swirled in a vortex like formation just below the ceiling. A bright light started streaking through the mass, parts of it dissipating as the light destroyed those it touched, until finally the last ‘demon’ had been vanquished leaving nothing but a fading ceiling above them.

Silence seemed to linger for sometime before Kasha reappeared before them not looking the least bit bothered by her display of power. The Drackon glanced around, eyes glowing until finally she nodded to herself and turned to the group.

“All clear.” A few hand gestures had the shield bleeding back into the symbols on the floor until it faded completely. 

“Thanks Kasha.” Xander grinned boyishly at the demon. 

“So they’re all still alive,” Nancy asked fearfully as she checked one of the downed people.

“Yes, they are merely unconscious. They will wake up with a bit of a headache and feel like they came out of a bad dream,” Kasha explained. 

Henriksen looked around him then turned to Dean. “I saw it all and I can barely wrap my head around it.”

“That’s why there are so few hunters,” Dean advised. “It takes a certain kind to do this work.” 

“I’m still not sure if that’s good or bad,” the agent joked back. 

“Sometimes you go with what you got,” Sam added, a slight smirk on his face. 

“So are you gonna take us in?” Dean eyed the agent carefully?

Henriksen studied them both for a moment deep in thought. He had spent several months chasing these two and finally had them in his grip. But he also now knew the truth of what was out there and what they really did. Looking back at what he remembered of their file he did note a pattern that the deaths had started prior to the brothers showing up and ended just before they left. He had told Dean the truth when he said that he only took down a few bad guys, and sometimes they managed to get out due to technicalities. These two saved more lives than he could even contemplate and they didn’t even get paid for that. 

“Nah, I’ll come up with something,” he assured the relieved brothers. 

“Maybe this would help,” Kasha interrupted handing a file to the agent. “That is all you will need to clear their names of any past issues. There are those in your government that know of that side of life.” 

Henriksen looked more than a little put out by that but took the file. The older Winchesters looked a bit surprised at that. 

“Now you three need to get out of here. I will stay to make sure things go well here,” she pushed Dean and Sam towards Xander. “We will be speaking later.”

Soon they found themselves outside with their kid brother and the deputy getting the Impala out of impound. 

“Kasha’s cool huh?” Xander looked at his brothers with a wide grin, well aware of their irritation. 

The two shared a look. “Get in the car Xander. We obviously need to have a family meeting.”

Dean missed the surprised look on Xander’s face but Sam did not. It bothered him that even after all this time Xander still questioned his position in their family. Maybe after this talk he’d understand he was one of them and they weren’t going anywhere.


	13. chapter 13

Xander sat on the bed watching his brothers cautiously. Neither had spoken since their return from the police station early that morning. Sam sat at the small table fiddling with his computer while Dean paced back and forth. For a Family Meeting not much was actually being said.

“What were you thinking coming in there like that,” Dean finally spoke, voice tense with anger. “You could have been killed!”

“Kasha was with me, it was fine. And you guys needed help,” he argued.

“That’s another thing, who or what is this Kasha,” he demanded.

“She’s a member of the Drackon clan. They’re a neutral species.”

“But she’s a demon!”

“There are a lot of peaceful demons! And she’s here to help us,” he shot back. “Look I understand that you guys really don’t get the concept of peaceful demons. But you hunt those that have already gotten on the radar by killing innocent people. I deal with demons you’ve never even heard of because they leave people alone. They have their own issues and problems and don’t want the world to end or to hurt anyone. Drackons are like that. They’re neutral. They don’t harm humans unless they are attacked first. Which is really rare given they technically live on a separate plane of existence. The only reason they agreed to help was because they owe me a favor! And I won’t have you disrespecting those I have worked hard to form alliances with.” By the end he was breathing heavy, anger flush across his cheeks.

Sam grabbed Dean’s arm before he could speak knowing his anger would likely bring out words not needed at the moment.

“Look Xander, it’s not that we don’t trust you, but like you just said, we don’t have experience with demons or even supernatural creatures that aren’t evil. We grew up with the thought process of ‘kill all supernatural beings’,” Sam explained calmly. “So when you come in to a very dangerous situation with your back up being an unknown demon, it worries us. We don’t know enough about them to trust they will have your back if we can’t.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, oh,” Dean snarked. “You also don’t have the intense training we grew up with. So excuse me if I get pissed when you walk into a deadly situation where we already have noncombatants to worry about. You said a while ago you’d never dealt with our kind of demons. Even that Whistler guy said so. And though we let you go to that conference thingy it was only because Whistler promised you’d be safe and a timeline of return. Though I will point out you went over the allotted time by a week!”

Xander rubbed his head sheepishly. “Yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay Xander. We understood, but doesn’t mean we have to like it,” Sam assured the younger man. “You also didn’t tell us you were even thinking about calling this Kasha, which worries us too. I know it takes getting used too, but you can talk to us about these things. We’re not going to get mad, however we are going to make sure you remain safe. It’s what brothers do.”

The startled and slightly confused look on his face made the older Winchesters want to hit something. Times like these showed just how much neglect the kid had suffered from his ‘family’.

Before they could say anything else or work on his confidence some the door to their room slammed open revealing a furious Ruby.

“Turn on the news,” she hissed, arms crossed self-righteously.

When they did so they found a news report going over the recent explosion at the precinct they had just vacated earlier that morning. It went on to indicate that there were unknown casualties, but they speculated who was inside.

“This is what I warned you about,” she ranted on self-importantly. “Had you gone with my plan this wouldn’t have happened. Instead your softhearted ways allowed one of the demons to get away and tell Lilith exactly where you were! Now all those humans you wanted to protect are dead! I hope you can live with that.” Having said her peace she made a dramatic exit, slamming the door behind her.

All three brothers turned to the TV watching with growing horror and guilt as the firefighters worked to put out the flames.

“She is quite the drama queen.” The casual statement startled the three males, causing Xander to jump while Dean and Sam drew weapons.

“Kasha! I told you not to do that!” Xander grasped at his chest trying to calm his heart.

“Apologies. It really is difficult to pass up such opportunities,” the Drackon stated playfully.

“How can you be so calm,” Dean demanded. “All those people we worked to save are…”

“Alive and well,” she interrupted earning shocked looks. “I would never waste my time saving lives only to have them taken a few hours later by a petulant child such as Lilith. I stayed back to make sure they were safe and when I felt the vile beast approach I removed the humans and let her believe she was reeking vengeance upon them. However, when the fire department finally gets into the building they will find that the Deputy, with Agent Henricksen’s support, decided to shut down the building an hour prior to the ‘gas explosion’ in order to ‘preserve’ the ‘crime scene’ until further investigation could be done.” She sat demurely in one of the chairs after using her magic to make it into something more comfortable.

“But Ruby said…” Sam trailed off eyes widening in realization.

“Yes, she says a lot doesn’t she?” Kasha sneered. “I destroyed every single vermin that arrived at the station that night. All but one; who decided to leave the party early.”

“Ruby,” Dean spit the name out like a curse.

“Indeed.”

“So she’s working with Lilith?” Sam frowned in confusion. “But she said she wants Lilith dead.”

“She does. However she will wait until the opportune moment to strike.” At the renewed looks of confusion she chuckled.

“It has to do with the prophecy,” Xander stated suddenly.

“Very good Knight. The death of Lilith is a very integral part of this ‘prophecy’,” she confirmed. Using her magic she transfigured the beds into three very comfortable chairs. “As Knight requested I shall tell you what we know of the ‘apocalypse’, and we know a lot more than those who claim to truly ‘know’ it.”

Xander plopped down into the chair nearest him enjoying the extra cushion of the fabric. Sam and Dean didn’t sit quite as quickly, but after a short and heated silent argument decided to join as well.

“Revelations is a story that has haunted man kind for some time. As well as worried many demon clans.” She sounded much like a teacher lecturing them. “You see the world and the Universe at large was created by ‘God’, however it developed slowly and humans did come about through evolution, they did not simply spring up one day. Demons were the same; we too evolved each species having their own ‘creation’ story. As Xander told you, the world is far older than you know.

For a long time nothing lived but plants and basic organisms. Then came the dinosaurs and other animals. They lived for some time then died out. What science doesn’t know, or can’t prove is the species that set up shop between the extinction of those animals and the beginning of humans. The True Demons, or Old Ones as they are often referred to.

These beings evolved in different realms, most containing ‘hellish’ living conditions. They came to Earth because it was the one realm that connected all the rest. This is why the Hellmouth exists, as well as other portals such as Hell Gates. Here they did battle for dominance. During this time God created his Angels to counter the great evil the True Demons brought with them. He hoped to balance the world out.”

“Then why not create the Angels at the same time as the True Demons,” Sam asked.

“Because God did not create the True Demons, Deihok did.”

“Bullshit,” Dean deadpanned.

“Dean…”

“No Sammy! You can’t expect me to believe this! Angels? True Demons? Deihok? It’s complete crap,” Dean growled out. “There’s never been any proof…”

“You are a ‘seeing-is-believing’ type of guy,” Kasha mused wryly. With a wave of her hand she brought up a screen with colors swirling around until it showed a very gruesome picture of the world and the Demons that once ruled it. Dean sat down slowly eyes glued to the show, knowing instinctively that the images were real. “I won’t show you some things mainly because they would hurt you.”

“Emotionally,” Sam guessed.

“As in literally burn your eyes out,” she corrected. Smirking at their apprehensive stares she continued. “As I said Deihok created the True Demons. You see in the very beginning there were three siblings. God, Deihok and Death. Only Death is truly immortal because Death is a constant. Everything will die, even God and Deihok. Even creatures that think they are immortal are really just long lived; they too will meet their end one day. Now, Death is neutral, it cares not if you are good or evil. Deihok represented evil and was considered the Destroyer, while God represented good and was in turn considered the Creator. Both had the power to make either happen. When Deihok allowed his creations to be unleashed upon the Earth in order to destroy it, God in turn created Angels to destroy Deihok’s Demons. The war was long and bloody. Many died on both sides. However it was God that realized the only way to reach ‘peace’ or at least a balance was to create a species that was not pure evil such as the True Demons, nor were they pure good, such as the Angels. The only way to do that was to create a species that had the ability to be both, and more importantly had the ability to ‘choose’.”

“Humans,” Xander spoke softly.

“Exactly. Humans were given true ‘Free Will’. While The Demons and Angels were given a semblance of choice, should their creators give an order, they must follow it exactly. Humans though can ignore those orders and decide if they wish to follow. By doing this it allowed him to remove the True Demons from this realm once and for all, though he could not stop one from feeding on a human and mixing their blood. This created the first Vampire, it also opened the door to lower Demons being able to step foot in this realm. It gets convoluted and extremely boring from there. Needless to say Earth was now in control of the humans and God moved his Angels into the heavens to watch over them. However, God miscalculated the loyalty of his children, or more specifically one child.”

“Lucifer. He apposed humans and fought with God defying him. But I thought it was so the ‘Devil’ could be created to watch over Hell?” Sam was in a zone, mind turning over all the possibilities.

Kasha snickered. “Hell as you know it was already there. Creatures like Hell Hounds and Divas already existed there. God chose to make it the place to punish those humans who chose to follow evil’s path. Just as Heaven already existed and he made it a place to reward those who followed the path of good, and those who chose to seek redemption. Again a complicated matter not worth going into.” She waved it off. “Anyways, in Lucifer’s deluded self-importance he took his new ‘role’ as the Devil to the extreme and led many humans on the path of evil. Too many. It forced God to bring about the birth of Jesus and you know that story. Finally Lucifer was caged within Hell, with over two hundred seals. However, only sixty-six need to be broken in order to free him. Of those sixty-six seals, only two are specific in nature and order. And those two seals are why Dean and Sam are so important.”

“What?” Anger, panic and disbelief saturated the outcry from the brothers. 

“Thus the prophecy of Revelations comes into play.” Kasha ignored them and continued on. “The prophecy speaks of the ‘End of Days’ where Lucifer will be broken from his cage and ascend to Earth where he shall take his vessel and reek havoc on the world until Michael descends from heaven into his vessel and the two will battle until one is conquered. What it doesn’t mention is the collateral damage. Either way, humans lose.”

“So how are we involved,” Dean demanded.

“The vermin, or demons as you know them, all follow Lucifer through his creations, Lilith and Alistair. The vermin are basically evil spirits as they were all once humans, they just have extra juice from the energies that exist in Hell. But they follow the orders of those stronger than them. Lucifer has deemed it time to be free, but his vessel must be found. This he tasked to Azazal, or ‘Yellow-Eyes’. He searched for those children he believed to be his master’s vessel and weeded them down to one.” Her eyes shifted to a now pale Sam Winchester.

“No, he wanted me to rule an army of demons not…”

“That is what he wanted you to believe. He may not have planned on you dying, but it worked well in his favor when Dean made his deal.”

“What does my deal have to do with this,” the blonde yelled.

“The first seal breaks when a righteous man breaks in Hell,” she stated calmly. “You Dean, are a righteous man. That is also why you only received a deal of one year instead of the normal ten. They need you to break the first seal. Also if they managed to keep you in hell while Lucifer breaks free and takes over Sam, then Michael cannot descend.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because you’re Michael’s vessel,” Sam hissed out, the pieces of the puzzle falling together. “We’re like mirror images…”

“Sam, what are you talking about? You’re not like Lucifer and I sure as hell ain’t like Michael,” Dean argued.

“But we are,” Sam countered. “You always listened to dad while I rebelled. You’re older and always looked out for me. You fight for innocents and I have demon blood in me.”

“You’re being ridiculous Sam.” Dean glared at him definitely. “We are nothing like them. End of story.”

“What’s the other seal you mentioned,” Xander asked hoping to get back on track.

“Lilith’s death. Ruby wants Sam to kill her and in doing so will break the final seal. Most likely she plans to get you to trust her, and when Dean is gone she will move in and ‘teach’ you to use your powers. What she doesn’t say is that to do so you will need to ingest demon blood, thus making your body open for Lucifer to take over.”

Silence followed that statement, each man pale at the thought.

“Why would God make such a prophecy?” Xander frowned angrily. “Why create a world and humans only to destroy it all?”

“He didn’t.” Kasha held up a hand to stave off questions. “Before God finally defeated his sibling, Deihok created the ‘prophecy’, it was his way of insuring the destruction of Earth and God’s creations should he and his minions fail. It was another reason God created humans and gave them Free Will, to give them a chance to thwart the ‘prophecy’.”

“If that’s true why aren’t the ‘Angels’ down here trying to stop this since they’re God’s creations too,” Dean inquired.

“Because most of them are mindless feather dusters that follow the older ‘wiser’ ones, most of which believe the prophecy is inevitable. A lot of them also do not like humans, not understanding that your existence keeps them alive,” she explained. “Others are foolish enough to believe it is ‘destiny’.”

“You don’t think much of Angels do you,” Sam remarked wryly.

“What gave me away?”

“Back to the issue. How can we stop this? It seems to me the best way is to stop Dean’s deal,” Xander mused aloud. “But if we do would that forfeit Sam’s life?”

“Yes and no.”

“Well that clears it up,” Dean snapped.

“It depends on how you break the deal. From what I understand the vermin you dealt with made it a stipulation that you not try to find a way out correct?” Dean nodded tersely. “She said nothing about your brothers trying. It is a fine line, but a loophole none-the-less. Normally this loophole would do you no good, so the vermin probably consider it moot. However, one little detail has made it possible to change everything.”

As she trailed off the brothers eyed her expectantly until finally Dean couldn’t handle it.

“What?”

Kasha didn’t say anything she simply gazed at Xander a sly smirk on her features. The two older brothers followed her line of sight.

Xander squirmed uncomfortably. “Why is everyone looking at me?”


	14. chapter 14

Xander didn’t know if he should laugh or cry when his brothers told him about the Ghost Facers. Sure he knew people like that existed but really. Sadly they learned the hard way about dealing with ghosts, and it cost the life of a young man. He supposed he lucked out in Sunnydale that most of the people there were too deluded and ignorant to try and help. Though when he thought about it a surprising number turned into villains. Probably a side effect from the mayor’s spells. 

Currently they were off trying to find out what was killing random people for body parts. It reminded him of the time Chris brought his brother Daryl back and tried to build him a girlfriend. The mere memory made him shudder. 

Meanwhile he had to work on their ‘secret weapon’ against the demons. Needless to say he had serious doubts about it. Dean agreed with him, which made him feel better. Sadly Sam had looked so hopeful about it that neither could disagree to at least try. 

Not that Xander didn’t think it was possible, he’d pulled off stranger things. But would he be able to control it in the end? Or would his brothers end up hunting him? 

If he was honest with himself that last thought probably held him back the most. One of his greatest fears in Sunnydale was becoming the thing he hunted, especially after what happened with Jesse. He still had nightmares about waking up with sickly yellow eyes and a ridged forehead. 

It probably didn’t help that he already had some experience with this particular issue. 

With a heavy groan he flopped back onto the hotel bed, wishing for all the world he didn’t have to do this. 

“What’s with the suppressive depression?”

The sudden voice had him jumping to his feet with a yelp. 

“Whoa! Calm down there kiddo,” Loki stated, hands up in a placating manner. “If I was gonna attack you I’d have already done it.”

“Not exactly reassuring but I’ll take it,” Xander groused at the being. “What are you doing here?”

Loki out on ever present chocolate bar and bit off a piece. “Call me curious. I want to know what you yahoos have come up with to defeat the big bad prophecy.”

One brow rose up. “That so? I thought you said nothing could stop it?”

“Well… things change. Especially when there’s a chaos child involved.” The other shrugged outwardly looking as if the topic didn’t bother him, but his eyes told a different story.

“Uh huh. To answer your question we have a plan. It’s not a great one but it will work,” he advised. 

“Okay… so what’s the plan?” Loki looked much like a kid waiting to be told that Santa didn’t exist.

“I need to channel Nala and kill Lillith before the Hellhounds take Dean,” he stated calmly. 

Loki blinked. “Who the hell is Nala?”

Xander snorted. “I figured for an angel you’d be more ‘knowing’. Nala is a primal spirit that possessed me back in sophomore year of high school.”

Another blink of the eyes. “You were possessed by a primal?” A nod. “And you weren’t catatonic afterwards how?”

“Don’t know. The others that were possessed by the rest of the pack were in therapy for a long time, but Nala decided to hang around, so maybe that’s why.” 

“Wait. She’s still in you?” Loki gave him a disbelieving look. “And you’re actually in control?”

“We made a deal. I wouldn’t keep her locked in the back of my mind, I’d hunt from time to time and she lets me stay in control. I think the fact I hunt demons also helps. She really dislikes most of them,” he explained. 

Loki sat heavily into one of the chairs by the table. “This…this could work. Even Mikey wouldn’t mess with a primal. So a demon shouldn’t be a problem.” He trialed off when he saw Xander’s frown. “What is the problem?”

“I’m… well worried that if I do call her forward I won’t be able to get back in control. Not because I don’t trust her per say, but I might not be strong enough,” he admitted softly. 

“No problem. If it seems like you can’t get control back, I’ll pop in and help give you a nudge.”

It was Xander’s turn to blink. “You’d do that? Help me I mean?”

“Sure.” The entity shrugged as if it was no big deal. “You’d be doing the world a favor by not letting Deano get taken to the pits. And any wrench into the big guy’s plans makes me happy.”

“You do know the prophecy wasn’t His plan,” Xander said gently.

“What do you mean?” Loki looked confused and more than a bit flustered.

Xander sighed heavily leaning on his knees as he told Loki all they had learned from Kasha had told them. The explanation left one very upset Trickster, or should he say Angel as the man’s grace started to get brighter in his anger.

“You’re saying it was all set up by this Deihok asshole and that’s why Dad created you guys?” A hesitant nod. “No wonder he made it a clear order to protect you all! I thought he did it to test us! That stupid old…” Thankfully he broke into a language Xander had never heard before, though the teen guessed the sentiment didn’t contain any niceties. 

However, the continued brilliance of the glow started to hurt Xander’s eyes. “Loki! LOKI! TURN IT DOWN!”

The slightly pained cry managed to brake through the Angel’s tirade and he instantly forced himself to calm, controlling his grace once more. “Sorry kid. Got a little upset.”

“Hey, no problem. I’d be the same in your position. It sucks learning about the things people hide from you to ‘protect you’. When in reality if they had just told you the truth, you’d have a better chance of actually protecting yourself.”

Loki eyed him for a moment as if searching for any deceit, but in the end just nodded. “You got that right. And now that I know the truth you can defiantly count me in. I like this world, no way am I gonna let some half bit prophecy made by the enemy ruin everything!”

“Now you know how I feel about it.” The two shared a smirk. 

Silence filled the room for a bit before Loki let out a long sigh. “So all this time Dad wasn’t trying to replace us?”

“I’m not that best person to understand parents. Mine seemed to either hate me or not care. But watching Mrs. S I realized that parents that really love their kids, would move Heaven and Hell if they could in the hopes of keeping their kids alive, safe and happy. I think maybe your Dad was trying to do that, but he didn’t know how to tell you,” Xander murmured softly. “Sometimes they can’t because it’s something you need to learn on your own.”

“Shame most of us are too hardheaded to learn,” Loki snorted. 

Xander grinned. “That’s when you knock some heads together.”

Loki laughed. “The looks on their faces if I did! That’d be priceless!” 

Once he managed to get his humor under control he turned back to the teen. “Okay kid. Let’s work on your control.”


	15. chapter 15

The past few days had Dean waking up drenched in sweat from various dreams about hellhounds. Both Xander and Sam tried to talk to him about it but in typical Dean fashion he told them to drop it. They knew he was getting worried about his time limit and their plan. Truth be told Xander felt worried about the plan too. Sam of course had confidence in him, but he suspected it was more from the desperate hope that this might actually work than because he couldn’t imagine the thought of losing Dean. 

They had contacted Bobby with their idea and he had balked against it at first. But even he agreed it would be better to catch Lilith on their own terms not hers. Tracking her might have worked and Loki even offered to find her for them, yet none of them liked the idea of walking into a location she would have the upper hand on. 

Instead they decided to use Ruby the way she tried to use them. It had taken some doing to lure the usually cautious demon to the old abandoned barn, but they managed it. Xander had heard some creative language in his time, however the phrases she released upon finding herself trapped were very unique. He even thought he might use some in the future. Dean’s expression at a few indicated he would be plagiarizing the demon. 

The best part had been the look on her face when Kasha showed up. Working her people’s magic she made it appear as if Ruby had used her power against the boys, a big no-no to her boss. She also used some contacts to get the word to Lilith. They had no doubt she would come to see just what her minion was up to. 

While they waited Xander meditated, speaking with Nala and the soldier in length about the plan. Both had agreed to it; Nala in particular was keen to sink her teeth into the demon scum Lilith, figuratively and literally. Xander simply asked her not to actually consume any parts of the body the demon current occupied. He still couldn’t eat pork products after the initial possession. 

Sam kept whispering a Latin exorcism to himself while Dean paced back and forth, occasionally jumping at sounds only he could hear. This led Ruby to mocking him about the Hellhounds hunting for his blood. Needless to say the two spent a good amount of time glaring at each other. 

“Stop listening to her Dean,” Sam advised as he read through another possible exorcism in their father’s journal. “You know the plan.”

“Yeah, but I don’t see why I can’t gank her first,” he growled back, green eyes narrowed on the trapped blonde. 

“Not yet, we still need her,” he reminded the elder absently. 

Dean just huffed, turning away from all of them to sulk. Ruby growled angrily. 

“You think Lilith will even believe this farce or that you’ll be able to defeat her without my help,” she snarled much like a wet cat. “I have helped you time after time! And this is how you treat me?”

“Yeah, but you were helping for your own reasons,” Dean snapped back easily countering her. “Or were you not going to try and win Sam’s trust so after I died you could manipulate him into killing Lilith at just the right time to start the apocalypse?” He stated it so casually it almost seemed like he was speaking of the weather. The shocked look on the demon’s face gave him his answer. “That’s what I thought.”

Silence managed to reign for a little bit longer before curiosity got the best of Ruby.

“How did you figure it out?”

“A little birdie told us,” Sam replied dryly, eyes still on his book. 

Just as she opened her mouth to ask again a sharp chime sounded through the barn. The brothers all stopped their activities sharing glances. Sam and Dean took defensive positions, while Xander remained still, allowing Nala to take over.

The doors burst open with a burst of wind, the lightening outside illuminating the small body of a girl, her curly hair messy and her blue eyes colder than ice. On either side of her claw marks etched into the ground announcing the presence of the Hellhounds.

“Somebody’s been a bad girl.” Those words coming from the child’s voice was wrong on so many levels. She stepped forward into the room, the doors slamming shut behind her. As her eyes swept the room she discovered Ruby in the Devil’s trap and the Winchester brothers standing silently in the middle of the room waiting for her. “Or maybe it’s the boys that have been naughty. You know you can’t break the deal Dean.”

“You might be surprised at what I know Lilith,” he told her coolly, his eyes moving from the two Hellhounds by her side able to see them clearly. 

She released an unnatural high-pitched laugh. “Silly mortals. There’s nothing you can do to stop this! You are doomed to Hell Dean. Accept it!”

“You won’t take him,” Sam yelled fiercely. 

“And who will stop me,” she challenged.

“Demon scum not hurt pack.” The deep unworldly voice practically echoed through the barn. Dean watched as the Hellhounds paused in their approach, hunching down with ears pinned. 

Lilith frowned as her eyes found the shadowed form moving forward into it stood between the two brothers. It was a boy, maybe seventeen or so, sharing similar features with the Winchesters. The deep green glowing eyes glaring at her sent a strange feeling through her being. “Who are you?”

“Your death,” he responded again in the strange voice. 

Sam and Dean tried their hardest to remain calm, more than slightly unnerved by the possession in their kid brother taking over. The echo-voice thing certainly hadn’t been expected. 

“You? Kill me,” Lilith gasped incredulously. “I am one of the first demons! You have no where near the power!” Throwing her hands up she ordered her hounds. “Kill him!”

The dogs crouched to do just that only to freeze when the boy let out a long dangerous growl, teeth bared angrily. Dean watched the hounds actually exchanged looks with one another before backing up cautiously, heads and tails lowered in respect. Definitely not a reaction he expected. Sure Nala was a primal, whatever that meant, but for Hellhounds to back off? That’s some serious mojo. 

“What are you doing,” she screeched. “I said kill him!”

“They will not listen. I am Alpha. I am Primal. You are nothing,” Xander/Nala informed the demon. 

For the first time in millennia Lilith felt fear. She backed up then tried to disappear only to find herself trapped. Her confused look clued the others in to her dilemma. 

“We had a friend paint Devil Traps all over the barn the moment you closed the doors,” Sam explained with dark satisfaction. “We didn’t want you to leave early.”

Lilith sneered before throwing a wave of power at them. The brothers tensed but only a strong wind passed them. Nala’s power had flared up to stop the worst of it. 

Again Lilith’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You… you can’t kill me! If you do Dean dies!” 

“Dean is pack. He is mine by blood long before your deal,” Xander/Nala informed the other. “You and yours took what did not belong to you.”

“If I let Dean go, Sam dies,” she argued desperately. “He sold his soul willingly for his brother.”

“Who died because of demon scum’s involvement. He is pack too,” Xander/Nala countered evenly. “Demon scum has over stepped their bounds. You die, Dean is free. Demon scum not touch pack again!”

“Wait! I will release Dean,” Lilith promised shrilly.

“Too late. Hurt pack, life forfeit,” Xander/Nala stated evenly. Without further warning he pounced leaping at the demon child. 

Dean and Sam flinched back as Lilith screamed in pain as Nala used her power on the demon. She fought hard against the primal, but it barely fazed the other. Neither brother interfered, having promised to stay back. Instead they prepared for the possibility of the hounds attacking while the primal was distracted. However, neither made a move, in fact Dean saw they had laid down watching the battle with mild interest. 

Ruby took this chance to try and break the trap she was in. She knew the minute Lilith died she would be next. Focusing she tried to force her powers to breaking the floor to disrupt the seal. However, nothing happened. Whatever they used to make the seal also started draining her powers. 

One long loud wail of despair alerted everyone that Lilith had lost. The child slumped to the floor unconscious as the black cloud of the demon hovered for a moment in the air before dying is a bright flash of light, dissipating to nothing. 

Sam turned immediately to Dean. “Can you still see the Hellhounds?”

Dean glanced back over to where they had been only to see clear air. “No, they’re gone?”

“They are there,” Xander/Nala advised also looking into the corner. “Go back, let all the packs in Hell know the Winchesters are MY pack. They belong to me.”

Though they could not see anything both brothers felt the lightness in the air indicating the hounds had left. 

“It’s over,” Sam asked hopefully. 

“Not yet,” Dean reminded him grimly staring at Ruby who had moved as far from them as she could.

“Stay back! I haven’t done anything to you,” she cried. 

“Liar.” The primal turned to the final scum lingering in the barn only to pull back in surprise. 

“Don’t worry about this one Lady Nala,” Loki stated from where he appeared behind the demon. “I’ll handle it.”

With that he put his hand on her head power flashing through her body destroying the demon within. As the body fell he caught it and laid it gently on the floor. “Sadly the girl she was wearing has been long dead. But you’ll at least be able to give her parents some peace,” he advised sadly. “Now, why don’t you let the kid take over again. You’ve protected your pack.”

Xander’s eyes closed and his body dropped like a marionette with its strings cut. His older brothers grunted in surprise running over to him. 

“Don’t worry, he’ll be okay with rest,” Loki explained popping candy. “Channeling a primal is not easy. You two mooks are lucky your little bro had the ability or this would have gone much differently. But all’s well that ends well! See you three later!”

Dean and Sam shared a look both letting out long sighs. 

“I really need some pie,” Dean huffed out.

Sam just shook his head chuckling at his brother’s statement, as the two worked to get Xander up. Yet he couldn’t deny how happy he was to still hear such things from Dean. His family was together and alive. The future was looking better than it had in many months. 

XOXOXO

The end.


End file.
